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Islamic
Culture and Art
Islam is considered the fastest growing religion in the world.
There are approximately 1.3 billion Muslims constituting
almost a fifth of humanity. Most are under 25
Geographic Distribution of
World Religions
Mohammed
570-632 ce
 570: born in Mecca after the death of his father
 Orphaned at 8, he came under the care of the clan chief
 ca. 595: Married Kadijah, a wealthy widow and his
business partner, who bore him 6 children
 ca. 610: A contemplative, he received a vision from the
angel Gabriel, telling him “You are the Messenger of
God”
 Revelations continued throughout his life, recorded as
the SURAS of the Qu’ran
 ca. 613: began to preach to friends and followers
 Faced opposition in Mecca from powerful mercantile
class
Hegira: Emigration
 622: Fear of persecution from Meccans led Muhammed
and his followers to emigrate to Medina -- the beginning
of Islamic history and the Islamic calendar
 Break with Jewish tradition -- prayers oriented toward
Mecca rather than Jerusalem
 627: Muslims defeated Meccan attack on Medina
 Alliances with nomadic Arabian tribes strengthened by
Christian defeat of Persians in 627-628.
 630: Triumphant entry into Mecca with most citizens
converting to Islam
632:Died in Medina with no designated heir
MS. Illumination of Mecca and Medina
The Qur’an
 For Muslims The Qur’an (Anglicized form: Koran ) stands as
the definitive word of God (in Arabic: Allah ) spoken to the
prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel.
 For all Muslims, the text is quite literally the voice of God: the
direct speech of God in Arabic
 Translation of the work is seen as blasphemy, as tampering
with God's own speech.
 Nevertheless, the Qur’an has been translated into Turkish
and Farsi (the language of Iran) in this century and is recited
in these languages in religious services in Turkey and Iran.
 For all practical purposes, to be Muslim means to be able to
read and understand classical Arabic.
Arabic
 Classical Arabic, as one of the
earliest Semitic languages, is
primarily a root language.
 Almost every word gets its
meaning from the roots it is built
from rather than by associating a
concept with the word.
There is little ambiguity or
confusion in a classical Arabic
sentence.
The language is clear, direct and
certain—qualities that are hard to
achieve in other languages.
“Allah, the beneficent and
merciful” in Arabic calligraphy
Revealed Prophets
 Adam
 Noah
 Abraham
 Isaac
 Ishmael
 Moses
 David
 Solomon
 Zacharias
 Elisha
 Elias
 John the Baptist
 Jesus
 Mohammed
Other Sacred Texts
 The Sunnah, the practice and example of
the Prophet, is the second authority for
Muslims. Belief in the Sunnah is part of the
Islamic faith.
 A Hadith is a reliably transmitted report of
what the Prophet said, did, or approved.
The Appeal of Islam
 The simplicity of its doctrine - Islam calls
for faith in only one God worthy of worship.
 Universality – belief and salvation open to
all
 Emphasis on education. Within a few years,
great civilizations and universities were
flourishing, for according to the Prophet:
"seeking knowledge is an obligation for every
Muslim.”

Clear code of conduct: Shari’ah
Islamic Values
 Monotheism and commitment to one God
 Education and Literacy
 Modesty and Chastity
 Honesty, Trustworthiness, Humility
 Family as a basic unit of society
 Consultation and Consensus
 Purity of intent and action
The 'Five Pillars' of Islam
 Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and the
finality of the prophethood of Muhammad
 Establishment of the daily prayers
 Concern for and almsgiving to the needy
 Self-purification through fasting
 Pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are able
Iman or
Faith
"There is none worthy of worship except God and
Muhammad is the messenger of God."
This declaration of faith is called the shahadah,
a formula that all the faithful pronounce.
Salah or Prayer
Worship 5 times a day
 pre-dawn
 noon
 mid-afternoon
 after sunset
 night
Qibla (Facing Mecca)
Adhan (Call to prayers)
Zakat or Charity
 All things belong to God, and wealth is,
therefore, held by human beings in trust.
 The word zakat means both 'purification' and
'growth'.
 Muslims calculate their own zakat. For most
purposes this involves the payment each year of
2 1/2% of one's capital.
Sawm or Fasting
 Muslims fast during the month of
Ramadan from sunrise to sunset
 Muslims believe that fasting helps them to:




build will-power
feel compassion
purify the body
strengthen their community relations
Hajj or
Pilgrimage
 The annual pilgrimage to
Mecca-the Hajj-is an obligation
only for those who are
physically and financially able
to perform it.
 About two million people go to
Mecca providing an opportunity
for those of different nations to
meet one another.
 Pilgrims wear special clothes:
simple garments which strip
away distinctions of class and
culture, so that all stand equal
before God.
The Kaabah
The place of worship which God commanded Abraham and Ishmael
to build over four thousand years ago. The building was constructed
of stone on is believed to be the original site of a sanctuary
established by Adam. God ordered Abraham to summon all
mankind to visit this place.
Sacred Sites:
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Sacred Sites:
Medinah, Saudi Arabia
Sacred Sites:
The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
Shari'ah: Islamic Law
 Systematized during first two centuries of Islam (8th9th c.)
 Regulates man’s relationships both with neighbors and
the state and with God and his own conscience
 Includes both ritual practices and ethical standards
 Considered the expression of divine will, the Shari’ah
has become rigid and static, posing fundamental
problems for social advancement in contemporary
Islam
Expansion of Islam
Crusade Period
Islamic Learning
The synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas and of
new thought with old, brought about great
advances in medicine, mathematics, physics,
astronomy, geography, architecture, art, literature,
and history.
 Mathematical systems such as algebra, Arabic
numerals, and the concept of the zero were
transmitted to medieval Europe via Islam.
Sophisticated instruments which were to make
possible the European voyages of discovery were
developed, including the astrolabe, the quadrant
and good navigational maps.
The University of alKaraouine :  Located in Fes, Morocco.
 The al-Karaouine mosque was founded
al-Qarawiyyin
by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 with an
associated school, or madrasa, the
oldest degree-granting educational
institution in the world.
 It became one of the leading spiritual
and educational centers of the
historic Muslim world.
 One of its graduates was Gerbert
d’Aurillac, later Pope Sylvester II (9461003)
 Reintroduced the abacus and armillary
sphere to Europe
 Introduced the decimal system using Arabic
numerals to Europe
Islamic Influences
 Astronomy
 discovered stars: Algol Deneb,
Betelgeuse, Rigel, Aldebaran
 compiled astronomical tables
and almanacs
 established observatories
 translated Ptolemy’s Almagest
 Mathematics
 Arabic numerals
 Zero
 Algebra, algorithm
 Inventions
 quadrant and astrolabe
 Medicine
 first hospital – Baghdad
706
 A&P: surgery
 emphasized empirical
observation
 hygiene and pharmacology
 Universities
 Al-Zaytunah, Tunis – 732
 Al-Azhar, Cairo – 988
 Muslim Spain: Granada,
Seville, and Cordoba, – 9th c.
 Timbuktu, Mali Empire – 13th17th c.
 Literature
 Religious Toleration
Medieval Islamic Scientists
Al-Khawarizmi (Algorizm)
mathematician/ astronomer
770-840
Jaber Ibn Haiyan (Geber)
alchemist/metallurgist
died 803
Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
physician/philosopher
981-1037
Ar-Razi (Rhazes)
physician/ philosopher
864-930
Abu Al-Qasim Al-Zahravi
(Albucasis)
surgeon/author
936-1013
Ibn Rushd (Averroes)
physician/philosopher
1128-1198
Ibn al-Nafis
medical researcher (first
discovered the circulatory
system) , novelist (first science
fiction novel)
c. 1210-1288
By 1100 “There existed in Cordoba alone, 200,000 houses, 600
mosques, 900 public baths, 10,000 lamps, 50 hospitals, lighted and
paved streets. There were bookshops and more than 70 libraries
with over 400,000 books.”
Ziryab introduces the lute to Cordoba, 10th c.
Islamic Toleration
 The Qur'an says: God forbids you not, with regards to those who
fight you not for (your) faith nor drive you out of your homes, from
dealing kindly and justly with them; for God loveth those who are
just. (Qur'an, 60:8)
 One function of Islamic law to protect the status of minorities: nonMuslim places of worship have flourished in the Islamic world.
 History provides many examples of Muslim tolerance towards other
faiths.
 Freedom of conscience is laid down by the Qur'an itself: 'There is no
compulsion in religion' (2:256).
 The life and property of all citizens are considered sacred whether a
person is Muslim or not.
 Racism should be incomprehensible to Muslims, for the Qur'an
speaks of human equality.
Major Branches of Islam:
Sunni
 Sunni:
 Mainstream and Traditionalist – 85% of Muslims are Sunni.
 Recognize first 4 caliphs as Mohammed’s successors
 Believe the theocratic state built by Muhammad to be an earthly,
temporal dominion and the leadership of Islam as being
determined not by divine order or inspiration, but by the prevailing
political realities of the Muslim world
 Emphasis on consensus of community
 The Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia are fundamentalist Sunnis and are
considered strict in their enforcement of rules regarding dress and
abstinence from liquor
 Wahhabi Islam has been one of the driving forces of
fundamentalist and political Islamic practice: Osama bin Laden
came from a Wahhabi sect.
Major Branches of Islam: Shi’a
 Shi’a:
 Began as political faction supporting the power of Ali, who was
a son-in-law of Muhammad and the fourth caliph of the Muslim
community.
 Gradually developed a religious movement that asserted the
legitimate authority of Ali's lineal descendants, the Alids.
 Shia do not recognize the authority of elected Muslim leaders, but
follow a line of Imams whom they believe have been appointed by
the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself.
 In the 20th century, notably in Iran, the Shi'ites became the chief
voice of militant Islamic fundamentalism. Hezbollah are also
Shi’ites.
Major Branches of Islam:
Sufi
 Sufi:
 Mystic belief and practice in which Muslims seek to
find divine love and knowledge through direct
personal experience of God
 Asserted a way (tariqah, "path“) and a goal
(haqiqah, "reality") alternative to those of the
Shari'ah, or traditional law
 The flowering of Sufi literature, especially mystical
love poetry, represents a golden age among the
Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu languages.
 Sufi missionaries spread Islam into India, Central
Asia, Turkey, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Islamic Art
 Calligraphy
 Mosaics
 Carpets
 Literature
 Music
 Miniatures
 Architecture
Calligraphy
 Islamic leaders saw in figural arts a possible
implication of idolatry
 Because of the importance of the language as a
sacred language and the cursive nature of the
alphabet, Arabic writing became an art form unto
itself.
 In Islamic and Arabic cultures, calligraphy
became highly respected as an art -- the art of
writing.
Zoomorphic: words are
manipulated and structured
into the shape of a human
figure, a bird, an animal, or
an object.
Gulzar the technique of
filling the area within the
outlines of relatively large
letters with various
ornamental devices
Tughra is a unique
calligraphic device that is
used as a royal seal. The
emblems became quite
ornate and were particularly
favored by Ottoman
officialdom.
Deewani became a favorite script
for writing in the Ottoman
chancellery. Deewani is
excessively cursive and highly
structured with its letters undotted
and unconventionally joined
together.
Afghanistan
Bukhara
Iran
China
Arabesque and
Geometrical Design

Arabesque: a style of
decoration characterized by
intertwining plants and
abstract curvilinear motifs.
 Geometric Designs:
Intricate patterns
emphasizing symmetry and
repeated rhythms
Literature: Poetry
 Arabic and Persian poetry
 qasidah: formalized ode: visit to abandoned encampment, journey
to find one’s love, eulogy to neighbor or tribe
 masnavi: long historical narratives: Firdawsi’s Shahnamah
 rubai: lyrical quatrains
 ghazal: short Arabic love lyric of 5-15 couplets
 Arabic Andalusian poetry: Islamic Spain
 muwashshah: mixes Arabic and Spanish idioms
 lyric simplicity, dense metaphors, love of nature
 courtship poetry: highly influential on development of Western
Courtly Love poetry
 Poemas Arabigoandaluces
Literature: Prose
A Thousand and One Nights
 Linked stories with frame tale
 Origins in Indian, Persian, and
Arabic tales
 Blending of the marvelous
with common, everyday
experience
 Emphasizes the healing power
of storytelling
 Collections of Eastern stories
influenced the development of
the novella and the short tale in
Western European literature
Scheherezade with the Emperor Shariyar and her sister Dunyasha
Miniatures: Persia
The Moslem sages and Sufis interpreted the symbols,
myths and legends of ancient Persia in the light of
Islamic mysticism.
The development and use of images in religious
buildings was mostly due to Persian nationalism, the
mystical approach of the artists and interpretation of
the image by Sufis.
Unlike Moslem jurists (fuqaha), Sufis were not
against the image, but rather they gave it a spiritual
and mystical significance.
 Mongol invasion of 13th c. brought Chinese
influences into Persian painting
Miniatures:
Persia
Miniature from a
manuscript of the Shah
Nameh of Ferdowsi.
Persian (Tabriz), about
1340
Miniatures:
Persia
manuscript of the Khamseh of
Khwaju Kirmani. Persian
(Herat), about 1430
Miniatures:
Ottoman Empire
 Zubdat-al
Tawarikh: a
16th c. history
of the world
by Seyyid
Loqman
Ashuri
 MS
illuminations
Adam and Eve with their children
Miniatures: Ottoman Empire
Noah and the Flood
Jonah and the fish
Jeremiah in wilderness Uzeyr
awakened after the destruction
of Jerusalem
Miniatures; Moghul Empire in India
The Moghul Emperors
brought with them Persian
artists to India.
The events in the lives of
the Emperors, hunting
scenes, fighting scenes
between animals, hills and
trees are illustrated in
Moghul paintings.
The Portrait of a Prince, 17th c.
Architecture
Mosque, Madrasah, Palace, Fort, House
 No evidence that early Muslim artists ever thought
of their work as Islamic.
 No dominant style or influence defines Islamic art.
 Definite regional variations.
 The most striking feature is the focus on interior
space as opposed to the outside or façade:
architecture that must be experienced by being
entered and seen from within..
 Feeling of weightlessness -- metaphysical space -enhanced by the presence of water: fountains, pools,
etc -- a Paradise on earth
Mosque of the
Prophet
Medina
8th-20th c.
The Dome of the Rock
th
Jerusalem, 7 c.
Interior, Dome of the Rock
Jerusalem, 7th c.
The Great Mosque of Cordoba: La Mezquita
9th-10th c.
Romanesque Arches
Dome with ribbed vaults and shell decoration
The Alhambra, Granada, Spain
10th-15th c.
Interior Fountains
Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou,
the oldest in China
Tang Dynasty, 8th-10th c
The Grand Huajue xiang Mosque
in Xi'an, Ming Dynasty, 14th C.
Dongsi Mosque in Beijing, 14th c.
The Blue Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
th
17 century
The Taj Mahal
Agra, India
Islamabad, Pakistan
Jakarta, Indonesia
Washington, DC